BEST WAYS TO MAKE INTERNATIONAL MONEY TRANSFER
As Digital Nomads, we're always on the road and we always need the most affordable ways of money transfer. Unfortunately conventional banking doesn't provide this. On the contrary, the commissions and the fees of the banks are insanely high and unpredictible. When you want to send or receive money from abroad they can't even tell the total fees for the transfer because of the so called "financial intermediaries" or "correspondent banks".
You can see Tugce while making a cross-border money transfer :D
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We're using cafes instead of banks, do you?
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While carrying big portions of cash is quite dangerous, using credit card can be another trouble in certain situations. Thanks to digitalization, there are many different companies and products for all of these situations. Some of them provides worldwide services like Transferwise and some of them are working within the EU like TransferGo. We use both of them and we're going to share only these ones since they are the only ones that we use.
TRANSFERWISE
Transferwise established by two Estonian friends who were also employees of Skype. It is an online account and it offers different products which provides low cost money transfer. You can send money abroad, receive payments in the supported currencies and spend anywhere with its card where Mastercard is accepted.
The exchange rates are mostly the best rate. In our experiences, company offered us the same rate with the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey. In Thailand, in March 2020, the rate was even better than the Super Rich (Super Rich is a change office and it mostly offers the best rate amongst others).
The exchange rates are mostly the best rate. In our experiences, company offered us the same rate with the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey. In Thailand, in March 2020, the rate was even better than the Super Rich (Super Rich is a change office and it mostly offers the best rate amongst others).
TRANSFERWISE PRODUCTS
Transferwise also offers cheap money transfers from one bank to another.
It has different types of payment methods and also it offers same-day delivery for an additional fee.
For example:
If you want to transfer €1000 to the US, you'll pay
€5,14 for Low Cost,
€9,20 for Fast Transfer and
€6,33 for Easy Transfer option.
Transferwise fees and the payment methods happen to differ when you change the currency or the amount. For example if you want to send AUD overseas, lets say US again, it is a flat rate of AUD 6.56 and the bank transfer to Transferwise is free. So you need to examine your own currency pair.
One of the best product of Transferwise is the Transferwise Debit Card. With this card you can spend money in any Mastercard point without any fee if you have enough money in the relevant currency. Additionally you can withdraw £200 equivalent (supported) currency for free every month. We withdraw money in Australia, Thailand and Malaysia (in the local currency) without any problem. The trick is that you need to convert the money upfront, this will cost you a little conversion fee but still better than the change office.
It has different types of payment methods and also it offers same-day delivery for an additional fee.
For example:
If you want to transfer €1000 to the US, you'll pay
€5,14 for Low Cost,
€9,20 for Fast Transfer and
€6,33 for Easy Transfer option.
Transferwise fees and the payment methods happen to differ when you change the currency or the amount. For example if you want to send AUD overseas, lets say US again, it is a flat rate of AUD 6.56 and the bank transfer to Transferwise is free. So you need to examine your own currency pair.
One of the best product of Transferwise is the Transferwise Debit Card. With this card you can spend money in any Mastercard point without any fee if you have enough money in the relevant currency. Additionally you can withdraw £200 equivalent (supported) currency for free every month. We withdraw money in Australia, Thailand and Malaysia (in the local currency) without any problem. The trick is that you need to convert the money upfront, this will cost you a little conversion fee but still better than the change office.
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As of April 2020, Transferwise became the first fully online money transfer service in the UAE. Now, you can send AED to 70+ countries including India, Malaysia, UK, Australia or vice versa and especially you can send AED to bank accounts or mobile wallets in the Philippines.Trensferwise is 2x cheaper than banks and exchange houses on average.
IS TRANSFERWISE SAFE AND LEGIT?
Our biggest concern about them is Transferwise safe?
According to our 3 years experience with them, the answer is Yes. We've received payments both from our own bank accounts in different countries and 3rd party payments.
Another concern about them is Transferwise legit?
Our highest trust level is Australia. If they let an airline to land their ports, we trust them and fly with that airline or if they let a product to be sold on the shelves, we trust them and consume it. Here is the same; they let Transferwise to operate in their country, so it is legit. Additionally, they need to be approved each in every country they operate. So, they are legit and trusted :)
According to our 3 years experience with them, the answer is Yes. We've received payments both from our own bank accounts in different countries and 3rd party payments.
Another concern about them is Transferwise legit?
Our highest trust level is Australia. If they let an airline to land their ports, we trust them and fly with that airline or if they let a product to be sold on the shelves, we trust them and consume it. Here is the same; they let Transferwise to operate in their country, so it is legit. Additionally, they need to be approved each in every country they operate. So, they are legit and trusted :)
TRANSFERGO
TransferGo is a fast and reliable, online money transfer service.It was founded in 2012 and it is a fast-growing Fintech brand. It serves EU and UK residents and businesses with 22 different currencies. The strongest leverage of the company is their fast transfers. If you're willing to pay a little fee you can send (some) transfers within 30 minutes. You can send money almost every country including USA, Canada, Australia and Turkey but you can only receive from the EU countries including Cyprus.
As I mentioned, we personally used TransferGo and received money from abroad. It was a smooth and seamless experience.
As I mentioned, we personally used TransferGo and received money from abroad. It was a smooth and seamless experience.
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As you can see from the pictures, when you send the money with the company's pace, you pay no additional fee and the xchange rate is quite competitive. I listed the cons and pros of TransferGo below.
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TransferGo Pros
30 minutes transfer time on eligible transfers Transparent fees and exchange rate margins Quick registration |
TransferGo Cons
Cannot send money outside of EU (like USA, AU, CAN) Cannot make large transfers Accepts only Visa and Mastercard (for transfers) You can send money only to a bank account |
IS TRANSFERGO SAFE?
Actually TransferGo has the same security standards like a regular bank because it is a licensed payment institution and supervised by HMRC in England.
WHAT IS THE BEST COMPANY TO TRANSFER INTERNATIONALLY?
Actually there is not only one true answer for this question. According to our lifestyle and needs Wise is the best company for us. We used their services in many different countries such as Turkey, Malaysia, Australia, Mexico, Thailand and they never let us down.
WHAT IS THE CHEAPEST WAY TO SEND MONEY INTERNATIONALLY?
We're still using old school bank transfers via Wise. It is a cheap, fast and reliable option. As a very cheap international money transfer option, cryptocurrencies are one of the most recent developments. To transfer money using crypto, you should register to one of the well known cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance or Coinbase. You can learn how to send money through cryptocurrency by following their instructions on their apps or websites.